Cookie Monster

In preparation for an annual cookie exchange, I have been busy in the kitchen today - making 12 dozen peanut butter balls and now working on pumpkin spice cookies.  Meanwhile, someone's been busy in the dining room, where the cookies are waiting to be iced....

I don't know how she managed to reach, but there are definitely a few missing.

Our (Im)Perfect Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is probably one of the most "non-frugal" things we do... we insist each year on buying a real tree.  Every year after the holidays when the great sales are going on I am tempted to buy a prelit tree, which would end up saving so much money over the years....but I just can't bring myself to do it!  I love getting a real tree - love picking it, love the smell, love everything.  I especially love all the little imperfections that make it - perfect.  I just couldn't imagine having a cookie cutter perfect tree - no branches out of place, no dead needles, no bare spots.  I have wanted (for years) to start the tradition (i am a tradition-loving girl) of cutting down our own tree instead of buying it from a lot.  Finally, this was the year! 

We headed out a few days early to tag our tree.....

Poor Carly never makes it into the action shots - this is a picture to prove she was there.

Tagging our tree!

"Mommy, can we get this one?!  It's ORANGE!!"

Jon worked the day after Thanksgiving, so Saturday we went to pick it up!  We were glad we tagged it early because it was FRIGID, and we did not want to spend any more time there than we needed to.

BRRR.... borrowing Ellie's gloves.

We brought it home and after a quick run to KMart when we realized half of our lights no longer worked, the decorating began!  We love to go through all of our favorite ornaments - the kids get one as a present each year representing their favorite things or something special from the year.  Of course the little guy still needs some direction - "let's not put 3 ornaments on the same branch" - but overall things stay where he puts them - so yeah, we have some ornaments that are definitely too close, but again those imperfections are what end up making it perfect. 

Decorating was extra fun this year because we had special help from our Thanksgiving guest, Ellie, from England!

And here it is.... our perfect tree.

Frugal Finds - Thanksgiving Edition

Although I am SUPER pumped for Christmas, I'm still holding myself back from decorating.  I'm following the unwritten rule that I must not break out the Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving (or possibly Thanksgiving evening.....) and plus, I'm finding some super cute cheap (or free!) Turkey Day decor.  Thought I'd share it in case you are looking for some last minute additions to your thanksgiving table.
Carli at Dimpleprints has created a seriously adorable *HUGE* package of Thanksgiving printables.  There's banners, food labels, signs, recipe cards....you name it, it's there - for *FREE!*  I printed off some cute favor tags to put on the goody bags for J's class party tomorrow.  I would love to print a ton more stuff, but I'm not too stocked up on printer ink and cardstock at the moment!  Here's a glimpse as to what is in the package....

There are sooo many possibilities with this collection!  If you see something you like, click here to visit Dimpleprints!  Since I just finished the goody bags, here's a pic of how they turned out - simple but cute!

Another great find was this Faux Burlap Thanksgiving Print - I ordered it as an 8x10 photo from Shutterfly - it came today and looks so great!  I'll pop it in a frame and have an instant Thankgiving decoration!

Some other deals today...

If you are a fan of Dunkin' Donuts coffee (my husband's favorite kind), it's worth mentioning that on Black Friday at Dunkin' Donuts (at least our local one), coffee will be on sale - 6 lbs for $25.  That's a great price for stocking up, considering in stores a pound can sometimes be almost $8!  Is anyone else using the Free Coffee Mondays punch card?  I cannot get enough of the Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee!

If you read many savings/couponing blogs, I'm sure you've seen the $5 Hallmark coupon advertised - I picked up a Family Circle the other day, got the coupon, and made a stop at Hallmark today.  I picked up 2 rolls of their wrapping paper and paid $1.58 total.  (Normally $4.99 each, but on sale for Buy One, Get One for 99cents, and then minus the $5 coupon).  Not bad - they have the best wrapping paper!

One last thing to mention - if you have the Kmart Rewards Card, don't forget to sign your kiddos up for their Birthday Club!  They get a little pack that includes $5 off a toy purchase of $5 or more!  I tried to use it today to get some Star Wars action figures for J - unfortunately the coupon is not valid on BOGO items.  Technically, I shouldn't be spending Carly's birthday money on toys for Jackson anyway :)  I'm planning to go back later this week to find something for Carly's stocking.

Belated Birthday Party

This morning we finally had Carly's first birthday party! Only 2 1/2 weeks late, I guess it could be worse. It was a tad stressful getting everything together, since I haven't been able to use my kitchen much this week (new flooring - YAY!) but it all came together fine. We had all kinds of yummy breakfast food - peach coffee cake, sausage & hash brown casserole, ham/egg/biscuit bake, blueberry baked oatmeal, fruit (thanks Nana!), and Entemann's donuts (courtesy of our favorite bread man.)
The birthday girl seemed to actually kind of enjoy opening presents (for a one year old) and has literally played with her new toys for hours now!

Paper - always the most exciting part for a one year old!

Forget being dainty - she downed the entire cupcake in a very short time!

Messy girl

LOVING her cute new kitchen from Peeps & Nana!

We are so thankful for our sweet Carly Jean - she is such a happy and silly little girl.  She fills our lives with laughter and lots of love!

Mikiyas Daniel

For pretty much as long as I can remember, I have had a heart for Africa.  Back in college, almost ten years ago (*GASP!*) I was blessed to be part of a team that went to South Africa to serve at Bethesda Outreach for a month.  Looking back even further, I can remember as a child always circling the black baby dolls in the Sears Christmas catalog.  Could it be that even then, God was already softening my heart for Africa????  Maybe that's a stretch, but maybe not.
We hope to someday adopt and for awhile we were thinking about Rwanda - a few months ago, that door closed for now, because the country is currently working on becoming Hague compliant.  Over the summer, I read the book There is No Me Without You, (if you are interested in Africa, or adoption, or kids, or social causes, or anything - READ THIS BOOK!) which brought Ethiopia to my mind....and it has stayed there since.  (There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia.  FIVE MILLION!)  So if we were starting the adoption process today - which we are not, though I'll keep you updated :) - Ethiopia would probably be #1 on our list.  We'll see if it still is when we are ready to adopt, or if God has other plans.
Anyhoo....back to present day and the real reason for this post:  Mikiyas Daniel.  I have always loved the idea of sponsoring a child from a 3rd world country, and we did sponsor Jhonny (who I met while in Bolivia) until he moved to live with family, but for a few years now we have not been sponsors.  We thought about it last year and even looked through the Compassion website, but I really wanted to pick a child who would be Jackson's age, so he could have a better connection with the idea, and at that time he was still too young. 
A few weeks ago, the kids and I were coming home from the mall and I turned on the radio.  Our local Christian radio station, WJTL was partnering with Compassion International to find sponsors for a group of children in Ethiopia.  (oooh....if we would sponsor a child in Ethiopia, and we adopt from there someday, maybe we would have the chance to meet him!) 
They began describing a child, Mikiyas Daniel, and said his birthday was in March, the same day as Jackson, just a different year.  (awww, too bad it wasn't the same exact day, that would be so cool!)
Then the radio guy said he had made a mistake, and when he re-read the new birthday, it was the same day, and now the same YEAR as Jackson's!  (!!!!!)  So I immediately rooted through the diaper bag to find my cell phone, but had no clue what the station's phone number was.  I kept listening and a few minutes later they said the phone number, so I called in hopes I would be able to sponsor this little guy.  I asked if he was still available, and the person on the other line said, "Actually his information was JUST put right in front of me."  Giddy with excitement, I gave all my info and happily became a sponsor.  Some people might think this was all an amazing coincidence - I think it was a "God thing."  :)
If you have ever considered sponsoring a child, please visit Compassion to find out more details.  It might stretch us a little more financially, but imagine the relief of this one's parents when they find out their child has a sponsor - that he will be fed, educated, and receive the medicines and vitamins he needs! 

Disneyworld Vacation

Not to sound hokey, but I think it really might be the happiest place on earth!!!  We had a great time at Disney, and there really is something magical about that place!  We had a week packed full of rides, eating lots of good food, meeting characters, and getting their autographs.  Of course I loved Disney the first time I went, back in 2005, but this time, having kids there.....even better!  I loved seeing everything through Jackson's eyes.  He was super excited about everything, loved every character, even if he had no clue who they were (ie Koda from Brother Bear), and was SO brave for the rides (the kid went on Tower of Terror!!!)  His top 3 faves of the week were:  1)  Jedi Training & fighting Darth Vadar, 2) being chosen to announce "Welcome to our Show" at the Little Mermaid, and 3) the Haunted Mansion ride.  Carly was such a little sweetie ~ pretty much the perfect baby for the week!  She was content to ride in the stroller for much of the time and would take 5-10 minute cat naps a few times during the day.  She loved the shows and would point and squeal so excitedly! 

Here's a few pics, because how can I blog about a Disney vacation and not have pictures?  (More on Facebook).

One Year

We have successfully survived the first year!  Carly turned one while we were on vacation at Disneyworld.  We just adore our sweet little girl.  She likes to be into everything, but she is the happiest baby ever!  So thankful she is part of our family.